Introduction
Vedere means “to see”, and this page covers exactly one thing: vedere in the passato prossimo. The passato prossimo is the tense Italian speakers reach for when they talk about one finished action in the past, especially in conversation. On this page you will find the full passato prossimo table for vedere, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the imperfect, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about vedere in the passato prossimo. It is the verb of seeing and watching, used for films, people and anything that meets the eye. Its passato remoto and past participle are irregular, while the present and imperfect are regular. For example: “Lui ha visto un film questa settimana.” — “He has seen a film.” Everything on this page uses the forms of vedere exactly as they are conjugated in the passato prossimo, so you can trust every form you see here.
Vedere in the Passato prossimo — full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| io | ho visto |
| tu | hai visto |
| lui/lei | ha visto |
| noi | abbiamo visto |
| voi | avete visto |
| loro | hanno visto |
| Gerund: vedendo · Past participle: visto | |
| The gerund is vedendo, which you use with stare to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Vedendo un film, imparo molto.” — “While seeing a film, I learn a lot.” The past participle is visto, which you use with avere in the perfect tenses: ho visto is the passato prossimo, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the passato prossimo is only one part of how vedere is used. | |
| Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for vedere, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. |
How the passato prossimo of vedere is formed
The passato prossimo of vedere is formed with the auxiliary avere in the present plus the past participle visto: io ho visto, tu hai visto, lui ha visto, noi abbiamo visto, voi avete visto, loro hanno visto. The participle is given here in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
Two things about the passato prossimo of vedere are worth noticing. First, the auxiliary is the whole decision: once you know that vedere takes avere, the rest is the present of avere plus one participle, and the same participle serves all four perfect tenses. Second, the passato prossimo is the tense of finished events with a clear result, so it pairs naturally with time words such as ieri, questa settimana and l'anno scorso — those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.
Because the participle visto never changes in the tables, the passato prossimo of vedere is cheap to learn once the auxiliary is fixed. Learn the six auxiliary forms, add the participle, and the whole tense is yours.
When to use the passato prossimo of vedere
The passato prossimo is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use vedere in the passato prossimo most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.
1. One finished action
The passato prossimo describes a single action that is finished, especially in spoken Italian. When the action has a clear end, the passato prossimo is the natural choice. Example: “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.” — “I have seen a film.”
2. Recent events
Use the passato prossimo for things that happened recently — today, this week, this morning — where the result is still visible in the present. Example: “Lui ha visto un film questa settimana.” — “He has seen a film.”
3. A sequence of events
When you tell what happened first, second and third, each step takes the passato prossimo. The tense moves the story forward one finished action at a time. Example: “Noi abbiamo visto un film questa settimana.” — “We have seen a film.”
4. An experience in your life
Use the passato prossimo for things you have done in your life, with or without a time expression. It is the tense of experience as much as of yesterday. Example: “Tu hai visto un film questa settimana.” — “You have seen a film.”
5. News and results
When you report news or a result, the passato prossimo carries it: something happened, and now the situation is different. The result matters more than the process. Example: “Loro hanno visto un film questa settimana.” — “They have seen a film.”
Passato Prossimo vs Imperfect: how to choose
The closest tense to the passato prossimo is the imperfect, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the passato prossimo describes one finished action, while the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual action in the past, or the background of a scene. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the passato prossimo sentences use words such as ieri or questa settimana, while the imperfect sentences use una volta or ogni giorno.
- Passato Prossimo: “Lui ha visto un film questa settimana.” — “He has seen a film”
- Imperfect: “Lui vedeva un film una volta.” — “He used to see a film”
- The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.
- Passato Prossimo: “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.” — “I have seen a film”
- Imperfect: “Io vedevo un film una volta.” — “I used to see a film”
- The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.
- Passato Prossimo: “Tu hai visto un film questa settimana.” — “You have seen a film”
- Imperfect: “Tu vedevi un film una volta.” — “You used to see a film”
- The passato prossimo sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.
Example sentences: vedere in the passato prossimo
Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.
- “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.” — “I have seen a film”
- “Tu hai visto un film questa settimana.” — “You have seen a film”
- “Lui ha visto un film questa settimana.” — “He has seen a film”
- “Noi abbiamo visto un film questa settimana.” — “We have seen a film”
- “Voi avete visto un film questa settimana.” — “You have seen a film”
- “Loro hanno visto un film questa settimana.” — “They have seen a film”
- “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.” — “I have seen a film”
- “Lui ha visto un film questa settimana.” — “He has seen a film”
Common mistakes
These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
- Wrong: “Io sono visto un film.” Right: “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.” Why: vedere takes avere in the passato prossimo, not the other auxiliary. The io form is ho visto — check the auxiliary before you build the tense.
- Wrong: “Io vedo un film ieri.” Right: “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.” Why: Ieri points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo ho visto for a finished action yesterday.
- Wrong: “Io ho vedendo un film.” Right: “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.” Why: The passato prossimo needs the past participle visto, not the gerund vedendo. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary.
- Wrong: “Io vedere un film.” Right: “Io ho visto un film questa settimana.” Why: The infinitive vedere never takes a subject and never forms a past tense on its own. After io you need the conjugated passato prossimo form ho visto.
Quiz: test yourself
Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.
What is the io form of vedere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) hai visto
- B) ho visto
- C) ha visto
- D) abbiamo visto
What is the tu form of vedere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho visto
- B) ha visto
- C) hai visto
- D) abbiamo visto
What is the lui/lei form of vedere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho visto
- B) hai visto
- C) abbiamo visto
- D) ha visto
What is the noi form of vedere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) abbiamo visto
- B) ho visto
- C) hai visto
- D) ha visto
What is the voi form of vedere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho visto
- B) avete visto
- C) hai visto
- D) ha visto
What is the loro form of vedere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) ho visto
- B) hai visto
- C) hanno visto
- D) ha visto
What is the io form of vedere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) hai visto
- B) ha visto
- C) abbiamo visto
- D) ho visto
What is the tu form of vedere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?
- A) hai visto
- B) ho visto
- C) ha visto
- D) abbiamo visto
Answer key
- B) ho visto — the correct form is ho visto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) hai visto — the correct form is hai visto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) ha visto — the correct form is ha visto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) abbiamo visto — the correct form is abbiamo visto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) avete visto — the correct form is avete visto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) hanno visto — the correct form is hanno visto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) ho visto — the correct form is ho visto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) hai visto — the correct form is hai visto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does vedere mean in English?
vedere means “to see”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb.
How is the passato prossimo of vedere formed?
With the auxiliary avere in the present plus the past participle visto: io ho visto, tu hai visto, lui ha visto, noi abbiamo visto, voi avete visto, loro hanno visto.
When do I use the passato prossimo instead of the imperfect?
Use the passato prossimo for one finished action in the past. Use the imperfect for an ongoing or habitual past action, or for background description. The time words are your best clue: ieri points to the passato prossimo, una volta points to the imperfect.
What are the gerund and past participle of vedere?
The gerund is vedendo and the past participle is visto. The perfect tenses use avere + visto.
Related pages
- vedere conjugation — full tables
- vedere examples and quiz
- Italian passato prossimo tense guide — the full guide to the passato prossimo tense in Italian.
- Italian irregular verbs — every common irregular Italian verb, grouped by pattern.
- Essere conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Avere conjugation — another Italian verb in this batch.
- Italian verbs — the full hub of Italian conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise vedere with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise vedere with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise vedere with the interactive tool.